Baby&#39;s bath chair



#'57 7 SH i A 2,379,340 i June 26, 1945. E A, CQRBETT 2,379,340

BABYs BATH CHAIR Filed Nov. 15, 1943 mv.) mi icone',

Patented June 26, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved babys bath chair adapted to be set in the bottom of the conventional adult size bath tub to permit the bathing of a baby in that way and Without the difficulty of having to hold it `against toppling over and possibly drowning, and so as to permit a baby to be left playing in shallow water in the tub in hot Weather as a protection against prickly heat, without any danger whatsoever of accidental drowning.

'Ihe principal object of my invention is to provide a bath chair of the kind mentioned, of simple and economical construction, having broad elongated fiat slats under the opposite sides thereof projecting forwardly from the seat bottom and well to the rear and also laterally from both sides of the seat bottom, whereby to provide absolute safety against tipping of the chair in any direction and also protection against sliding movement in any direction, the slats being preferably of thin flexible and resilient material, so as to conform themselves by transverse flexing to the curvature of the tub bottom and thus afford ybroad surface engagement for maximum safety.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a bath tub showing a babys bath chair made in accordance with my invention in use therein, the chair appearing in side elevation with a baby indicated in dotted lines seated therein;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the chair with the rounded tub bottom indicated in section therebeneath, and

Fig. 3 is a top view of the chair.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout these views.

The seat bottom 4, back 5, and arms 6 are al1 preferably, though not necessarily, made of wood and are suitably proportioned for the comfortable seating in the chair of a fbaby, as indicated in dotted lines at I in Fig. 1, when the chair is placed in a conventional bath tub, like that indicated in section at 8. A diaper or towel can be used as a belt around the babys waist to fasten the baby, as indicated at 9, and, if desired, a projection I may be provided on the rear of the back near the bottom as a point of anchorage for the belt 9, the belt being passed under this projection and tied, as indicated.

In accordance with my invention, two elongated slats II and I2 of wide thin and flexible resilient material, such as wood, are suitably secured to the under-side of the seat bottom 4 on the opposite side portions thereof, extending forwardly from the seat bottom, as indicated at I3, and well to the rear of the seat bottom, as indicated at I4, and also laterally from the opposite sides of the seat bottom, as indicated at I5, whereby to support the chair against tipping in any direction. The slats II and I2 flex transversely and conform themselves to the rounded bottom I6 of the tub, as clearly appears in Fig. 2, thus affording broad at surface engagement on the tub bottom as distinguished from line contact and giving -better assurance that the chair will not tip or slide in any direction. The Ibreadth of the slats and their exibility combine to give maximum safety, because when the slats seat flatly on the tub bottom, the total pressure of the water above is quite appreciable and is enough to keep the chair stationary, the action being comparalble t0 that obtained with a bath mat resting flatly on the bottom of the tub. The weight of the baby seated in the chair is, of course, enough to insure the flexing of the slats into rm broad surface to surface engagement on the tub bottom. The thinness of the slats is of further advantage in supporting the chair at the desired low level, so that less water is needed in the 'bathing of the infant, which means greater safety in the use of the device, and, of course, the low level placement of the chair further reduces likelihood of its tipping over.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A bath chair of the kind described, comprising a. seat bottom and back, and a pair of laterally spaced, substantially parallel, flat bottomed, thin, exible slats for supporting said chair in a bath tub with its bottom disposed close to the bottom of the tub, said slats being adapted to rest flatly on the tub bottom and being elongated and of appreciable width, and being secured to the under side of the seat bottom so as to project forwardly and rearwardly appreciable distances from the seat to prevent tipping, said slats also projecting laterally appreciabhr with respect to the seat bottom for protection against tipping sidewise, the flexibility of said slats lengthwise and transversely permitting the same to conform to the contour of the bottom of the tub under the weight of the occupant in the use of said chair. f

2. A bath chair of the kind described, comprising a seat bottom and back, 4the bottom being .1A mi of approximately the same dimensions as the back, and a pair of laterally spaced, substantially parallel, fiat bottomed slats for supporting said chair in a bath tub with its bottom disposed close to the bottom of the tub and with the slats disposed lengthwise of the bottom of the tub, said slats being of appreciable Width and adapted to rest flatly on the tub bottom and being elongated, and being secured to the under side of the seat bottom so as to project rearwardly an appreciable distance from the seat and also laterally to prevent tipping, said slats being of thin, flexible, resilient material adapted to flex mainly transversely to conform to and seat more squarely upon the side slopes of the tub bottom under the load of the occupant of the chair.

3. A bath chair of the kind described, comprising a seat bottom and back, the bottom being of approximately the same dimensions as the back, and a pair of laterally spaced, substan- .tially parallel, nat bottomed slats for supporting said chair in a bath tub with its bottom disposed close to the bottom of the tub and with the slats disposed lengthwise of the bottom of the tub, said slats being of appreciable width and adapted to rest flatly on the tub bottom and being elongated and of appreciable width, and being secured to the under side of the seat bottom so as .to project forwardly and rearwardly appreciable distances from the seat to prevent tipping in either direction, said slats also projecting laterally appreciably with respect to the seat bottom for protection against tipping sidewise, said slats being of thin, flexible, resilient material adapted to ex mainly transversely to conform to and seat more squarely upon the side slopes of .the tub bottom under the load of the occupant of the chair.

4. A babys bath chair, comprising a seat bottom and back, and arms, and mat type means secured to the seat bottom and adapted to conform to and rest substantially flatly on the bottom of a tub in which .the chair is placed, the

same presenting a large area on the bottom for broad surface-to-surface frictional engagement on the tub bottom and a proportionally large area on top for hydraulic pressure thereon of the water in the tub and being held against displacement from a given position partly by friction but mainly by the hydraulic pressure of the water above said means as well as the weight of the baby placed in the chair, said-means supporting said chair with its bottom in close parallelism to the tub bottom.

5. A chair of the character described, comprising a seat bottom and back, and broad flexible slat means attached to the chair in a horizontal plane under the seat bottom for anti-slip support thereof in a bath tub or the like, said means presenting a large area on the bottom for broad surface-to-surface frictional engagement on the supporting surface and a proportionally large area on top for hydraulic pressure thereon of the water in which the chair is placed, whereby said chair is supported securely against slippage or other displacement independently of any other means.

6. A chair of the character described, comprising a seat bottom and back,.and broad flexible resilient slat means attached to the chair in a horizontal plane under the seat bottom for anti-slip support thereof in a bath tub or the like, said means presenting a large area on the bottom for broad surface-to-surface frictional engagement on the supporting surface and a proportionally large area on top for hydraulic pressure thereon of the water in which the chair is placed, whereby said chair is supported securely against slippage or other displacement independently of any other means, said slat means having suiicient rigidity for adequate support of the chair against tipping and having sufficient iiexibility and resilience to conform more or less under the load of the occupant of the chair to the shape of the surface upon which the chair may be placed.

. ENOS A. CORBETT. 

